Kittatinny Canoes - Matamoras Base — Local services in Westfall Township

If I could give 0 stars I would. I've done a bunch of rafting, tubing, kayaking around PA and upstate NY before but only twice with Kittatinny. I went rafting last year with them and it went pretty smoothly (though their "safety lecture" is basically, "Here are the life jackets. Turn when you see the second bridge."). If you've never done any river trips before, do NOT use them! They are wildly unsafe and don't provide any instruction.

First time we tried to go this year it poured rain, with thunder and lightening predicted for the rest of the day. The staff said "Oh of course we won't send you out if there's thunder and lightening." But since we'd already paid they wouldn't provide us a refund. Their policy is that if they're launching boats, you don't get your money back. Sarcastically I turned to my boyfriend and said, "So they wait until no one sees lightening for 5 minutes and launch anyway in order to keep everyone's money," and to my surprise a woman on the staff laughed and said, "Yep, pretty much!" like it was a joke. When others tried to get a refund and left the staff behind the counter actually said to each other, right in front of us, "Yeah I'm not giving them their money, I'm in a bad mood today."

Most public pools and beaches (and responsible rafting companies) will require people to wait anywhere from 20 minutes to 1 hour from the last sighted bolt of lightening before they let anyone back in the water. I'm shocked a business would take the risk.

We managed to get a rain check for another day and returned to go kayaking. Again, no real safety tips or instructions. My boyfriend rowed crew but not kayaks and on the very first turn into the rapids we hit a rock and capsized. The current was too strong to properly right and drain the kayak, even though we tried several times and got banged up pretty badly on the rocks. Still, these things happen so we got to a rock big enough for us to rest on in the middle of the river. My boyfriend is like 6'1", 200+ lbs, and is extremely strong, but he didn't feel confident he could get himself and the kayak all the way to the shore safely. I tried twice and didn't feel strong enough to chance it considering the rocks and the current.

Since we had an emergency cell in our pack we called Kittatinny. They told us to get to the shore. We said we couldn't make it. They said they'd see what they could do. 20 minutes went by. We called again and said we needed help. They had no idea who we were, where we were, or that we had called earlier. They put us on hold, they transferred us, we had to explain again. Keep in mind we can SEE the Matamoras landing right there and they're still launching boats! Now 30+ minutes have gone by and we're losing the ability to hold on to the rock. Finally they say, "Well if we bring you in we can't relaunch you so that'd the end of your trip." Obviously we didn't care we just needed help. Then they said they'd send a van with a boat in tow because they didn't have one at that launch site. More time went by. We called a fourth time just as the "boat" (2 high school kids in a canoe) got to us. It took both fit employees, my boyfriend, and myself to get the kayak, the canoe, and the 4 of us to shore and we STILL almost went under.

WARNING: Be aware that if God forbid something happens to you, they have NO rescue plan or mechanism in place, no rescue equipment, and no trained personnel to help you. They literally just give you a boat, a life jacket, and a ride back to your car.

I'm actually in the process of reporting them to authorities because it's so unbelievably unsafe it borders on illegal. But they have such a monopoly in the Delaware River Valley that I doubt they'll...

What started off great, ended horribly. Everything was great until we got off at the rafting destination. I went with a big group and together, we filled up 4 rafts. As I was getting off the raft, some of my group was already on shore and immediately told me that parents overshot the stopping point (PondyaPondy Eddy BasesBase)d andrand continued down river. I immediately told one of the staff workers, blond girl, wish I remembered her name. She assured me they will be picked up by another bus and be bought back to home base where our original meeting point was. So the rest of my group and I got on the bus and returned to the original base. We are waiting there an hour and I still see no sign of my parents. I didn't think it would take them so long to find them when I told the staff two mins after they overshot the landing. When I approached the staff at the home base, none of them were even aware that we were missing people. LIKE WHAT! Apparently the woman I told at the pond Eddy Base actually did nothing. So I was told that they would be looking into it and figuring it out. 30 mins later I go back to see if there was any updates, I was told that they were found, and either will be getting picked up, or on the way back now. How could they be getting picked up now, or they are already on the way back. Where's the communication. Someone's family is missing. But I let it slide, I can tell the staff at home base were a little flustered as well. But now this is where it gets more interesting. It is now 2 hours of waiting and nothing. So I went back to the staff asking for another update. This is when one of the staff told me that a van was being sent to get them. I asked them how long, 30 mins. I wait 40 mins and go back to them, still nothing. Now frustration has took over the tone of my voice, I asked again for an update because from Pond Eddy to main base is only a 10 min drive. After the staff spoke to someone on the phone, they told me that they are "definitely on the bus now, and should be here in 15 mins". 20 mins and 3 busses later, with my group not getting off, and I'm extremely livid. I was lied to multiple times already. I was told they would be picked up on a bus, then a van is going to get them, to them being on a bus and not it's 3 hours later and they are still not with us. All they kept saying was don't worry don't worry. But I got lies when I asked where my parents were. How in your right mind is lying about my parents whereabouts, while simultaneously telling us not to worry is helping anyone? What makes matters worse, none of my group of 20 people had service, not at the base, nor the entirety of our trip. So it's not like we could contact them ourselves to make sure they are ok. After I approached them after 20 mins passed by I was finally told the truth (which I didn't know it was at the time), my parents somehow ended up 17 miles down the river when our entire trip was only 7 miles. So the entire time I'm asking where are my parents, and them lying, they were actually just floating down the river. They told me that they are getting on the bus from that base now and should be arriving in 30-40 mins. 45 mins go by and yet again, I'm going to the staff yelling and cursing just trying to figure out where my parents are. 5 mins into me yelling at them, my parents show up. And guess what, they were picked up in a van even though I was told they are getting on a bus. Horrible horrible communication between staff and horrible communication between staff and customer. Never coming here again. The staff that I talked to made it seem like an inconvenience that my...

Here’s what you’ll be greeted with: Lots of teens with no training as the “employees”. Lots of adults getting drunk on their lawn, waiting for the bus. You will be bussed to a base camp, where another group of teenagers will say hello to you, the ones that are awake and not asleep on the rafts.

Although you won’t actually be assisted by anybody, you will be surrounded by people who work there. Great for not feeling alone while you’re still on land.

When I got in the water , it was so shallow, the kayak wouldn’t move. When I slightly raised my voice to address one of the half-awake teenagers; they suggested that I should walk the kayak, further across the river, because it was definitely deeper. The water wasn’t deeper, but it was faster. When I tried to get into the kayak, I was immediately pushed against the rock and capsized . No biggie. The water is ankle deep.

The problem was there was no training on the kayak and I’m not an experienced kayaker. I didn’t know how to get water out of the kayak other than to roll it. I discovered this is the way to get more water into your kayak.

Now that I was much further across the river, I had to yell for help. I received lily-white waves of acknowledgment, but absolutely no assistance. After capsizing a few more times, and finally having too much water in the boat , I yelled that the kayak was too heavy for me to hold in the current, I needed help or I would have to let it go. Sleepy Smurf went back to his Nintendo switch.

I let the kayak go and my very generous friend caught it down river. They sent a truck to pick up their kayak, Instead of walking 25 feet out to help a customer.

45 minutes later we made it back to the cash shack and I asked for my refund. The Top Teenager was very careful to explain to me that I had signed a Waiver. The subtext being they could watch me drown from the shoreline and not be accountable. I persisted.

She made sure that I understood that she worked for a company, and that company has a chain of command and other employees. She referred to me as “my guy,” And let me know she had to call the corporate office in Michigan to issue the $145 refund. At the chain of command in Matamoras, no one could work the computer well enough to print out a receipt for my refund.

Getting the refund was the biggest adventure I had at this dumpster fire.

Everyone seems bored and untrained here. If you’re going to take a long kayak trip from this company, make sure you’re experienced and have extremely low...